


Risk

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Episode: s05e05, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 16:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4444049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cochise decides to tell Ben and Matt about the real reason that Tom and Hal are gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Risk

“…So Tom and Hal went ahead to scout, that’s all.  They had to leave quick, which is why they didn’t say goodbye,” Weaver explains to the three of them.

Ben and Matt exchange looks as Cochise nods.  Tom has been behaving rashly lately, so that is a logical reason why Tom would leave without informing him of where he was going.  Part of him is upset that Tom did not say goodbye, but Cochise is relieved that he is well and with Hal. 

Hal, while excitable by Volm standards, is a skilled fighter and intelligent tactician.  They will ensure each other’s safety, Cochise is certain. 

“How long are they gonna be gone?” Matt asks.

“Depends what they find,” Weaver says.  He turns to Cochise.  “I need to talk about some tactical matters with you.”

Cochise inclines his head and follows Weaver.

“Look, Pope took Hal and Tom’s gone after them to get Hal back,” Weaver says. 

Cochise turns towards Ben and Matt before turning to Weaver again.  “This is not purely a tactical matter.  We must call Tom’s offspring over and inform them.”

“No,” Weaver says, “Tom wanted to keep this quiet.  Pope wants to murder Hal and then murder Tom because of what happened with Sarah.  Everyone doesn’t need to know that.”

Cochise generally allows Tom to make the large parenting decisions as he is a human and their offspring are human, but he does not feel right about concealing important information from Ben and Matt. 

It is uncomfortable; Cochise understands military necessity.  He has grown up with military necessity.  Yet, he wishes to override Tom’s desire and military necessity in order to inform them because he knows it is what they would want. 

“I am not suggesting that we inform everyone of the situation,” Cochise says.  “Merely that we inform their family.” 

“You know how those Mason boys are.  They’d go charging off right after them, no concern for their own safety,” Weaver says.

“I will inform them that such an action will place their brother and father in danger,” Cochise says.  “They will be informed, but I will ensure their safety.”

“You’re sure about that?” Weaver says.

“It may take Tom time to recover his offspring, and your cover story will only last for a matter of hours before it becomes clear to them that it is false,” Cochise says.  “I do not wish to be a part of an unnecessary lie.”

Weaver sighs.  “It’s not unnecessary.  It’s what Tom wanted.”

“I have not always found his judgment to be sound recently,” Cochise says.  “In his absence, our offspring are my responsibility.”

“Your offspring, eh?” Weaver says.

“They are not biologically my own, but Tom has assured me that that does not make them any less my family,” Cochise says.  He tilts his head.  “If you believe this to be the most intelligent course of action, I will follow.  But I believe that honesty will lead to better long term results.”

Weaver thinks for a moment, but then nods.  “If you think you can reign them in, then go ahead.  But if those boys go off on their own, you won’t just have to answer to Tom, you’ll have to answer to me, too.”

“Understood,” Cochise says. 

He turns back towards the offspring to see that they are still watching the two of them.  They seem suspicious, so Cochise believes he is making the right choice as he gestures them over. 

“What’s wrong?” Ben asks. 

“Something is wrong.  Don’t say it’s not,” Matt says, crossing his arms. 

Cochise squats so he is at closer to their eye level.  “I require that you promise to not tell anyone about what I wish to tell you.  You must not act on this information.”

Ben nods slowly and nudges Matt when he doesn’t do anything.

“I don’t wanna break a promise to Volm Dad!” Matt says. 

“Matt, I assure you, if you do act on this information or inform other people, it will be to the detriment of your father and your brother,” Cochise says.

Matt looks up at Ben.

“He means it’ll hurt them if you say or do anything,” Ben says.  “If Cochise doesn’t want to go after one of us or Dad, you know he has a good reason.”

“Fine.  I promise,” Matt says, frowning. 

“John Pope has taken Hal as a form of retribution against your father,” Cochise explains.  “And Tom has gone to retrieve him.  I am certain that he will return with your brother soon.”

Matt’s face goes blank.  “Pope took Hal?”

Ben looks down at his brother with a worried expression on his face and slips an arm around him. 

“Yes,” Cochise says.  “I am sorry.  I am aware that you considered him a friend.”

Matt shrugs a little.  “Not anymore.”

“And you’re sure we can’t go after him?” Ben asks. 

“John Pope’s aim is to do as much emotional damage to your father as possible, so pursuing him would only make it easier for him to hurt us, and thus hurt your father.  In addition, if he captured you or Matt, it would make Hal disposable,” Cochise says.  “I wish to fight beside your father to save your brother as well, I assure you, but that would place them both in greater danger.”

Ben sighs and nods, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“We gotta get ready to move with everyone else,” Matt says, pulling Ben away from Cochise.

“I will be waiting for you in Colonel Weaver’s vehicle,” Cochise says as he watches them walk away.

“You sure you made the right choice?” Weaver says.

Cochise nods as he watches their backs.  “It is better that they know.”

* * *

 

“I wanna go after them,” Matt says.  “We gotta get them back.” 

“I wanna go, too,” Ben says, “but Cochise is right.  Pope’s not stable.  Dad knows what he’s doing, and we’ve got to trust him.”

Trusting Dad hasn’t been the easiest thing lately, Ben knows, but that he’s going after Hal has to be a good sign.  It’s something regular Dad would do.

“Pope is my friend!  Maybe I could talk to him,” Matt says.

Ben considers the best way to explain this to him.  He knows that Matt liked Pope, so pointing out what a terrible person Pope has always been probably won’t help, even if his little brother hanging around with Pope has always made him want to scream.

“Pope is different now,” Ben says.  “You know how Dad’s been angry lately?”

Matt nods.

“Well, Pope’s like that, but more extreme.  And Dad’s gonna go back to himself once the war is over,” Ben hopes so, anyway.  It’s the only way that Ben can deal with this, “but Pope’s not.  Dad is fighting for us, but Pope doesn’t have anyone to fight for.  He just wants to hurt Dad.”

“He should have taken me instead of Hal!” Matt says. 

Ben nudges him.  “You know Hal wouldn’t want that.” 

“What if we lose Dad and Hal?” Matt asks.

Ben decides to just pick him up because he wants to be close to his little brother and because this situation fucking sucks.  “It’s not gonna happen.  We’re not gonna lose either of them.”

“You can’t know that!” Matt protests.

“Yeah, I can,” Ben says.  “Dad and Hal are both smart and strong and love us so much.  Nothing is going to stop them from getting back here.  They might be hurt when they come back, but they’ll come back.”

“Lots of smart and strong people have died,” Matt says, laying limply against him.  Honestly Ben doesn’t know how to deal with limp Matt.  It’s scarier than a beat up Matt.

“They have, but Hal and Dad have been up against much scarier people than Pope.  I believe in Dad, okay?” Ben says, shrugging a little.  “No matter what happens, he always saves us and he always comes back.  He went to the moon and came back.”

“Lexi died,” Matt points out.

“That’s different,” Ben says.  They still don’t really know what happened up there.  There hasn’t been time to ask.  “She was different.”

“Yeah,” Matt says.

“If it takes too long, we’ll go get them.  But for now, we have to trust Dad,” Ben says.  “He’ll have a plan.  A way to get Hal out.  And if we interfere in that, we could get them both killed.”

Matt nods against his shoulder.  “I don’t wanna get them hurt.”

“So we go with Cochise and Weaver for now,” Ben says.  “And that Cochise told us the truth now means we can trust that he’ll tell us the truth later.”

Matt’s quiet for a bit so Ben just stands there with him.  “Is it bad that I’m sad about Pope, too?  Because Dad’s gonna kill him.  If Pope hurts Hal, Dad’ll kill him and he’ll be dead.”

Ben thinks about himself crying over Red Eye’s body, thinks about how part of him used to miss the skitters, even if he was so happy to be with his family. 

“No, that’s okay,” Ben says.  “War sometimes leads to a lot of weird feelings.  That’s okay.”

“I mean, I hate him because he wants to hurt Hal and Dad, but I just… wish he didn’t.  That he’d be okay,” Matt says.

“I know,” Ben says.  “That’s okay.”

* * *

 

“Thanks for telling us,” Ben says when Matt is napping in the car later.

They’re in the back of Weaver’s weird car and Matt’s head is in his lap.  Ben runs his fingers through Matt’s fluff comfortingly. 

He wonders if this is what Hal felt like when Dad left on the spaceship, so long ago.  Except Ben _knows_ that they’re coming back.  And he and Matt have Cochise now, too. 

“I believed you would wish to know,” Cochise says, craning his neck so he’s looking at them.  He’s seemed… uncomfortable this whole ride in the car, but Ben hasn’t commented on it.

“Yeah, we do,” Ben says.  “Just… most people don’t tell us things.  And it sucks because it means that we never know what’s happening.”

Weaver is looking at him through the rearview mirror. 

“I would only deceive you if it was of the utmost importance,” Cochise says.  “Tom is your father and Hal is your brother, and you are all very important to each other.”

“Are you okay?” Ben asks.  “I mean, you love Dad and Hal, too.”  And Cochise’s Dad died like last night.  That’s a lot to happen to someone.

“Thank you for your concern,” Cochise says.  “I am confident that Tom will return with Hal.  They may be injured and in need of our assistance, which is… an upsetting thought.  But they will be alive, and I look forward to seeing them again, no matter what condition they are in.”

Ben smiles just a little.  He’s glad that Dad has someone to love him like Cochise does, and he’s glad that they have Cochise to look out for them. 


End file.
